Short sellers turned notably more aggressive this week. Several names saw sharp short interest jumps, while a few heavily-shorted stocks saw bears retreat.
Biggest movers higher: HPK (HighPeak Energy) saw its SI % of free float jump +8.6 percentage points in seven days to 42.5% of FF. Bearish pressure on the oil producer is building fast. KVYO (Klaviyo) is another notable mover — shorts added +6.8pp to reach 20% of FF, an unusual surge for a $2.2B software name with very cheap borrowing costs.
SPCX (SpaceX) also caught attention, with SI climbing +5.8pp to 24.3% of FF over the week. With the Iran conflict dominating headlines and energy markets rattled, SpaceX's trajectory has apparently unnerved some traders.
Perennial bear targets: WOLF (Wolfspeed) remains the most shorted mid-cap, at 73.7% of FF — though shorts trimmed positions by nearly 9pp this week. Zero availability means it's nearly impossible to add new short positions. (EverCommerce) tops the short score board with a borrow cost hitting , signalling extreme conviction from remaining bears.
Squeeze candidates: CHWY (Chewy) saw shorts cut by -15.9pp to 46.2% of FF. Availability sits at a massive 680%, meaning new shorts can still pile in easily — but the rapid exit signals squeamishness. IES Holdings flipped the other way: SI surged +131% in a week per ORTEX data, driven by earnings volatility.
ORTEX also flagged SFD (Smithfield Foods) with short interest plummeting 34% week-on-week to just 0.70% of float — the lowest in months.
This is not financial advice.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
